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Potato crisps and chips, fried potatoes
One type of potato processing is the production of potato crisps and fried potatoes.
According to legend, the inventors of chips are capricious American millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt and cook of the hotel Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs, George Croom.
In 1853, Vanderbilt lived at this hotel. During lunch, capricious rich thrice returned back to kitchen the potatoes, chopped, in his opinion, too large. In response to it, angry Croom cut potatoes into thin slices and fried them in oil. But oddly enough, chef’s provocation failed. Vanderbilt was delighted and ordered this type of potato chips during all his vacation in the hotel. Very soon the chips have become popular among the American beau monde, and were included in the menu of the upscale US restaurants.
Today, there are two basic recipes of potato crisps. The traditional way - manufacturing chips (or crisps) from slices of raw potato, as it was done the first time by cook Croom. Production of potato chips includes the following main operations: washing and sorting of raw potatoes, cleaning, cutting the tubers, washing sliced potato from starch, blanching, drying, roasting, adding salt and spices, wrapping. The quality of raw material is very important here: a good crisp can not be cooked from any tubers. They should be firm, with low sugar content, with no damage inside and with a smooth surface. 4 kg of high-quality potatoes turn into only 1 kilogram of chips. Breeders have been engaged around for decades in the cultivation of special potato varieties, the most convenient for producing this product. Oil for frying, by the standards of most manufacturers, should not give chips strange odor. Therefore, in the most cases the olive, soy or palm oil is used.
The second method involves the production of chips from dry raw material - potato flakes, pellets or starch. The initial quality of raw materials destined for extrusion (wiping and drying), is also important, but it is only at the production of flakes, pellets and starch. Manufacturers of these "recovered" chips do not care about the defects of tubers and uneven cooking. Technological scheme of production of potato chips of this type includes the following steps: mixing raw materials with starch and spices, forming chips, drying, roasting, cooling, packaging.
Raw potatoes as a raw material can also be used to produce this type of chips. In this case, there are following basic operations: washing potatoes, cleaning, cooking, wiping, drying, mixing it with starch and spices, molding, drying, roasting, cooling, packaging.
Chips from mashed potato, which is then rolled and formed, are less caloric than the natural crisps.
But in addition to raw materials and proper technology, technological equipment is also very important. Unfortunately, potato chips do not apply to the products of healthy nutrition, so it is important to minimize the risk to health by applying the latest developments in production, aimed at protecting human health. For example, a Swedish company, Rozenquists, specializing in the manufacturing of equipment for lines such as potato chips (natural crisps) and chips of dried potato starch and other snacks. This company has developed and manufactured a special device to reduce the content of fat in the final product from 33 - 36% (normal fat content) to 23-26%. This device is installed directly after the Frying machines. Steam is injected into the device to reduce fat and heated to 160 - 180 ° C using a heat exchanger. Powerful fans chase a very hot steam through a layer of crisps. When the steam passes through the chips, it takes oil from the surface of the product. A mixture of oil drops and steam falls into a special oil filter, which retains 99% of the oil droplets. The oil from the filter falls back into the roasting machine. Thus, achieved two goals: reduction of harm for health and reduction of the consumption of oil for frying.
Fried potato came about the same time as potato crisps. The technology of production of fried potato is similar to the production of potato chips (especially the beginning of technological chain), but at the same time, there are significant differences. For example, in the production of fried potato shredded potatoes are blanched twice, then roasted in a special vegetable oil and rapidly frozen, so it retains its flavor and nutritional quality. Then, a potato can be cooked quickly in a deep layer of vegetable oil (to fry for about 2-3 minutes), in a microwave oven (8-10 minutes), or in the oven (15-20 minutes).
For the production of fried potatoes they use only elite varieties of potatoes - Russet Bourbon, Santana and Innovator, which have the desired size, texture and taste.
Due to the special potato processing technology - cleaning with steam, short-term pre-roasting and rapid freezing – fried potato saves maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients.
The taste of fried potato differs from the taste, for example, of simply cooked potatoes. Outside the fried potato has a crisp and inside it has a tender texture, reminiscent of a baked potato. Achieving the same effect by cooking potatoes in an ordinary deep-fryer is almost impossible. How does it happen? The raw potato is sliced, blanched, and then immersed in hot oil for 2-3 seconds. Thus, slightly roasted crisp appears on the potatoes. Then the vegetables are quickly frozen and shipped for sale. When after that you are frying this potatoes at home, crust prevents penetration of oil into the product. Thus fried potatoes turn out not only tasty, but less fat than when using other methods of cooking.
Among the manufacturers of equipment for production lines for fried potatoes there are several internationally acclaimed for their innovative developments and highest quality of performance of equipment, for example, the company Rozenquists, Sweden, TummersMachinebouw, the Netherlands.
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